Duong Nghiep Chi, former head of the Institute for Sports and Physical Training Science, who has been studying regulations on sports betting in Vietnam for 15 years, gave his opinion about the barriers impeding this activity in the country.

Mr. Duong Nghiep Chi

Recently, the National Assembly's Standing Committee expressed its agreement in principal on legalising gambling in casinos for Vietnamese citizens. Several experts have pointed out that, if the locals are allowed to go to casinos, sports betting may also soon be legalised. However, sports betting is a sensitive issue which has been discussed for over 10 years with no results.

Chi says the government should open the door to casino gambling and sports betting quickly. He said, "Sports betting is a form of entertainment which 80 countries allow and are developing, while 40 of those are members of International Sports Betting Association."

According to Chi, allowing limitless betting, in which people could bet their cars or houses, would be a mistake. But, according to Chi, if limitations on age, maximum amounts for wagers and the number of wagers per day are enforced, it would be more like a lottery. He even claims that legalising sports betting would fulfill people's needs and prevent social evils.

However, he said that managing sports betting would be even more complicated than managing casinos because Vietnam lacks experience and technology in this field. "Another problem is how to use the revenues. The first solution would be to contribute everything to the state budget. The second would be to spend a large portion on sports sector and the third would be to invest in various sectors simultaneously, including sports. Another thing that hasn't been worked out is which agency would be responsible for managing this area" Chi said.

Chi went on to say that, with good management, Vietnam could earn hundreds of millions of USD each year and would not have to worry about funds for organising the Asian Games. The ban on sports betting has caused losses of USD1-2 billion to foreign bookmakers, he said.

Speaking on the issues surrounding the Ninh Binh V Football Club scandal, in which several players placed bets on their own club's match against the Malaysian team, Chi commented that, even when sports betting is legalised, this type of action would still be illegal. "There are signs of match-fixing," he added, "Also, we should not bring sports betting into V-League because the honesty and credibility of our FCs and players has been shown to be weak."